Dragon Goddess
by CocaColai
Summary: Someone or something keeps drawing Lucy to Galuna Island. But what does it want? and why would it send her a solo request? Copyright disclaimer! I do not own Fairy Tail nor the contents of it.
1. Chapter 1

"Lucy…" whispered a soft voice that attempted to rouse her from asleep. "Lucy…" it whispered again adding in some shaking in futile attempt to wake her. "Lucy" the voice prodded louder and shaking more violently this time, Lucy simply moaned annoyed. "Lucy! WAKE UP YOUR SLEEPING IN SPAGHETTI" yelled the voice frustrated startling her and knocking her quickly awake.

"Oh" yawned an exhausted Lucy stretching out her arms in front of her. "Thanks for waking me Mirajane"

Mirajane smiled sympathetically as she watched Lucy clean her face with a towel she had handed her.

"What time even is it?" asked Lucy trying to look at her watch, though her eyes were glazed over with haze from her sleep.

"Let me see. It's 2:34pm"

"Oh" shrugged Lucy, resisting her begging eye lids that wanted another un-honest five minutes.

Mirajane poured Lucy a glass of orange juice and slid it across the bar to her. Gratefully Lucy took the drink and downed it hoping it would give her the kick she needed to stay awake, even if just for the next give hours when she considered it would be reasonable to go to bed.

"Not that's it any of my business hun" she started saying as she poked her thumb at the tea towel into the shot glass she was drying. "But have you been sleeping okay?"

Lucy paused for a moment before answering. "It's not the sleeping that's the problem" she sighed. "It's the dream"

"Which dream is this?" asked Mirajane intrigued but still trying to smile reassuring to the worried blonde that she meant nothing by it.

"It's daft really" sighed Lucy "Silly most likely. But in the dream my mum is calling me. She's got her arms stretched out as far as she can toward me to embrace me into a hug. I can… never reach her though. She just keeps telling me to go to… ah never mind. Like I said it's daft"

Quickly Lucy jumped up from the bar stool and headed toward the guild door. "Catch you later Mirajane. I'm going to grab some fresh air whilst it's still warm outside" she tried to cheer happily although there was a tinge of sadness quavering in her voice.

In Magnolia town square the streets were packed. There was a mid-summer sale going on at most of Lucy's favourite stores for the next week. Knowingly Lucy had dragged herself there to try to get her mind off of this dream she'd been having repeatedly for the last two weeks. Maybe she just needed some downtime, though rent wasn't exactly going to pay itself. She'd have to take a job at some point. Perhaps she could brave a solo one so that she could actually claim the reward and not end up paying three quarters of it out on property repairs.

"Galuna Island, huh" she muttered to herself in thought as she was slowly through the hordes of people.

Why Galuna Island of all places, she thought trying to piece this together, though it seemed odd that it would have any meaning at all really. It wasn't anywhere Layla had spoken to her about or mentioned before in their short time together. The first time she had heard of it was Natsu brought that S-Class request into her bedroom over a year ago. Always Galuna Island, she thought more irritated, never come home or to the ice-cream café we use to go to every Sunday afternoon.

Always, Galuna Island.

_What if there was something there though. But that something doesn't mean mother is there, I mean how could she be… _thought Lucy trailed off in deep thought that she almost forgot to look where she was stepping.

Lucy walked out of a cute clothes store after purchase a dark blue dress that was covered in a thin glitter fabric. It reminded her of the stars and her celestial spirits whom she cared for dearly which cheered her up a little knowing she had great friends always with her to support her.

"DAMMIT HAPPY!" yelled an annoyed Natsu loudly who had stopped for a brief moment in irritation. "She finally wakes up and then had to go and leave the stupid guild hall" he pouted scratching the back of his head in frustration.

"Well it isn't my fault!" moaned Happy placing his paws on either side of his hips. "If you weren't in that pointless fight with Gray, we'd be on a job right now"

Natsu cursed and made a sound as if spitting out the air with his mouth. "Stupid ice princess had it coming to him for being a love sick weirdo"

"Now is not the time for that Natsu" sighed Happy exasperated. "We have to go find Lucy!"

Lucy chuckled a little to herself as she watched the duo fighting just like siblings. She didn't really want to go on a job though. Yeah she could do with going on a job because of rent, but really she didn't feel like it. The thought of Natsu's face the last time she turned him down for a job stuck in her mind. She couldn't bear to say no to those sweet eyes that glistened with disappointment. Gosh he can be really cute sometimes, she thought then shook her instantly as if trying to shake that thought from her head as she started to continue walking away.

"Gotcha!" shouted Natsu excitedly as he grasped a now squealing Lucy by her waist and hoisted her into his arms. Moving swiftly he hiked her over his shoulder and ran for it.

"Hey Natsu! What do you think you're doing! Put me down!" she wailed kicking and punching him like a small infant child that wasn't getting it's way.

Natsu stopped briefly to smack her arse and then continued to run. "Will you stop that. You've already gotten away from me once today now I'm taking you somewhere you can't get away from me again"

_Somewhere you can't get away from me again…_

The words ran in her head. Just what exactly did this idiot mean? Surely not as something as naughty as tying her to the bed post in her underwear or anything like that, right? Though the thought has crossed her mind which depicted her begging Natsu to take her where she lay. Lucy tried to flop herself over his shoulder more in order to hide her hard blush, hoping that she would also slide right off with any luck.

"Natsu seriously put me down!" she shouted. He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Magnolia Park. Of course she thought to herself. It's so open spaced it'd be hard for me to get away from him unnoticed. Seems he actually thought about something other than fighting. Makes a change for the flame brain.

Natsu gently placed Lucy to sit under the tree "There. This should be far away enough from all those people. Honestly thought I was going to have to sneak in your place later if I didn't find you sooner"

_Was he really worried about me?_ She wondered._ And since when did he give a dam about only needing to sneak into my place?_

"Anyhow are you alright?" he asked nonchalantly as he sat down close beside her so that there arms were brushing to lean against the tree.

Lucy simply nodded. "Are you?"

"Yeah I'm alright" he smiled his sweet tooth grin. "Why do you ask?"

"You're being nice. Use to you being sarcy or energetic" she teased prodding him in the ribs with her left hand that was closest to him.

Natsu shook his head clutching her hand. "You know I can see through that right."

"You can see through what?" asked Lucy trying not to seem alarmed by what he had just said.

Near diving at her Natsu embraced her in his warm arms. "That you're not okay" he whispered into her ear thanking himself that they had lost Happy in his sprint. "I can see it in your eyes Luce. It's like your smiling but your eyes are crying but without crying"

He hugged her tighter as he waited for her to respond. "Please tell me what's wrong Luce" he whispered pleading into her ear.

Lucy said nothing still instead she wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him closer towards her.

_He's so warm. He feels like protection. And strength. And… and home_. She thought as she continued to embrace him, wishing deep down that the feeling wouldn't end any time soon.

_Anything but death. Say loneliness and I'll hold you tighter. Say jealousy and I'll make you feel like the only thing in my world. Just don't say death. Anything but death. _Natsu's felt like it was sinking further and further into his chest the longer he waited for her to respond. _Anything but death. _He hoped again, he already lost Igneel in his life who was the most important person to him but then when Lucy burst into his life and started to open up his heart… Natsu thought he would not be able to bare the pain to look at her limp lifeless face.

She was startled when she felt some drip onto her shoulder. _Is he crying? _Then another one hit shoulder near where the other one had just landed.

"Natsu…" she whispered moving her arm up to his shoulder. "…are you okay?"

"Please" he whispered again, moving his right hand briefly to wipe his tears. _Anything but death, please Lucy. _

Lucy pulled back for a moment to look into his face. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Of course I wouldn't" he said starting to smile a little cheekily but his eyes glistened with the sweet tears that had just fallen.

"I've been having a dream about my mum…. Well it's actually more of a nightmare" she shrugged averting her gaze from his eyes. "She keeps asking me to go to her, but I can never reach her"

Natsu dives at her again to hold her though this time a little too roughly knocking her back pressed against the tree. "Oh thank the dragon king" he muttered

"Ehhhh?" she asked confused. _What was that about a dragon king?_

"I thought you were going to say you were dying or something like that" he sighed relieved and squeezed her tighter.

She blushed at his words, hoping he would stop pressing against her so roughly soon. This would not have gone unnoticed had they been back at the guild, that's for sure.

_"Mother!" shouted Lucy as she ran toward the open armed figure. "Mother please wait… please wait…. I'm coming" she tried to yell though frantically out of breath._

_"Lucy please come find me… Find me at Galuna Island!" she shouted frustrated as loud as she could trying to stretch her arms towards Lucy but being pulled back from an unknown force. _

_Lucy stretched her arm desperately closer to Layla but missed by mere millimetres "Mother!"_

_"Lucy!" shouted Layla still trying to grasp her daughter's hand. The hand she had been waiting so long to hold. "Galuna Island please"_

_"Wait. Please. Don't go! Don't leave me again" she cried out painfully, sharp tears making their way to the corner of her eyes. "Mother!"_

Lucy bolted upright in her bed. It felt more real this time, like she almost her mother's warm from her hand. Her fingertips still tingled from the dream. But as much as she tried to shake the dream she couldn't shake her feeling of curiosity. She should go to Galuna Island?

"What time is it?" she moaned pushing the duvet off of her and trying to find a light switch.

_Only 9:15pm. Great. _ She thought sarcastically. _So much for a decent sleep._

Lucy threw her legs over the bed and rushed to grab some clothes. She shuffled on the clothes that she had been wearing earlier a little pink short skirt and white t-shirt, though swapping tights for thicker black leggings, with white boots. Swiftly she grabbed her gate keys and hand bag before heading out the door.

It was a lot warmer than what she had thought it would be outside and although the sun had set it the night sky wasn't quite pitch black yet. Steadily placing one foot in front of the other she headed toward the guild hall.

_Master Makarov is usually still working now, maybe he can talk some sense into this dream. I mean, I can't just sit here and do nothing about it. What if it is important? Maybe there is something on Galuna Island calling to me? Maybe I should just go and check. But it's just a nightmare, right?_

Lucy debated to herself repetitively her gut instinct screaming for her to leave and see what could be out there whilst her brain and logic were telling her to stay and that it was nothing. Before she knew it was she was opening the large doors of the guild hall which creaked slightly as she opened them. It was colder than usual she thought as she took a couple of steps in.

_Has everyone gone home? But usually someone is around right?_

"Hello? Is anybody here?" she called out hoping that the Master would appear before her or at very least give her some sort of indication that he was still around.

"Oh Lucy hun" called out the sweet voice that was just leaving the guild kitchens. "You've just missed Master Makarov not long ago, but he told me to give you this when I next see you. Said something about urgent" she trailed off as she handed her a folded sheet of paper.

"It's a job request" she spoke surprised under her breath. "Wait they've requested me to go alone?!"

Mirajane smiled brightly and tilted her head. "Well isn't that something!"

"Wait it says I'm go to alone, so I can't take Natsu or Happy?" she quizzed Mirajane staring at the request unbelievingly. Who would need or want her only on a job request.

"That's right. Unless the request states that you can take other members you're only to assume that you can't"

"Oh okay" she said a little anxious. "Thank you for giving me this Mirajane, can you let Happy and Natsu know that I've gone for me?" called Lucy towards Mirajane as they departed outside the guild hall.

Mirajane waved and smiled brightly back at her "Of course I can! Have a safe trip"

On the way home to back excited and nervous Lucy read the request a bit more carefully. Something about releasing her seal and finding a dragon something….. the hand writing was murky and smudged, barely legible but the next words she read were crystal clear.

_Wait. That can't be. _Lucy stopped near instantly on the spot. _Galuna Island. The request is in Galuna Island._

She stared at the words for a moment. _ Well, I guess there's nothing for it. I will go to Galuna Island._


	2. Chapter 2

In the port town of Hargeon where the town bustled and boomed, Lucy made her way to the docks. It was bright outside but the wind still whipped with fury which made her shiver. She had packed a lot of items to take with her though whilst packing she had thought that Erza had been starting to rub off on her. After all she always carried such tremendous amounts of luggage wherever she went. Lucy smiled and chuckled to herself a little, unable to shake the feeling that she would not be returning to the guild for quite some time.

"Alright time to find a boat" she said with some determination as she headed towards the docks not far up ahead.

Many fishermen were unloading their boats and negotiating prices when she got there. It smelled salty but at the same time it was quite refreshing. Further along the port down towards the left some children were taking life guarding lessons, they seemed to be having so much fun on such a chilly day.

_When was I here last? _She wondered looking around the port. A couple of the old buildings had been knocked down and rebuilt into fancy apartments where potted plans balanced on the balconies. The café she went to repay Natsu for helping her had closed down so that all that was left was the sign.

_It must have been the last time I went to Galuna Island, if I had to guess it would have to be eleven months ago. _She sighed when she realised that she had forgotten about being trapped for 7 years inside the seal on Tenrou Island. _Make that seven years and eleven months ago Lucy._

"Excuse me miss" spoke a familiar voice that was deep and rough around the edges. "Do I know you?"

Lucy turned on the spot to be faced with Bobo, but he looked so much older. His beard had grown long and thicker, thick bags of exhaustion under his eyes and no longer did he disguise himself as a human being but instead adorned his true demonic purple appearance in public.

"Bobo? Is that really you?" she asked quizzically sure that she was correct but still uncertain.

"Miss Lucy it is you!" cheered Bobo excitedly grabbing her hand and shaking it furiously. "It's so good to see you! It's been too long"

Lucy smiled widely at the warm greeting. "It's good to see you too! It has been too long but so much has happened"

"Ah I guess it's that little thing called life getting in the way" he chuckled stretching his arm back behind his head in as he chuckled. "So what brings you to Hargeon? Don't suppose by any chance you're looking for a boat to take you to Galuna Island again?"

Lucy's smile sank. That's right.

"Oh Miss Lucy I do apologise for my rudeness" he spoke as he bowed his head slightly.

"Oh no don't apologise. You're actually dead on!" she tried to cheer that last part but it came over as exaggerated and over the top. "I have a job request there. Don't suppose you would be able to take me on your way back? That's if it's not too much trouble"

Bobo bowed again. "Miss Lucy it would be my pleasure to take you to Galuna Island"

"Thank you Bobo" said Lucy gratefully as she bowed her head.

"I do have some business I need to attend to if you can wait for a few hours?" he asked rising his head up.

Lucy smiled lightly. She was getting a free ride of course she could wait a few hours. "That's okay I'm in no rush to get there. May I ask what business you have in town? After all I could help you, it's the least I could do for such kindness you have shown me"

"My father has been taken ill" he said solemnly "I come here as often as I can to come visit him when the village is in order of course, but I..."

"You worry about him" she added to the end of Bobo's trailing sentence.

He nodded. Lucy understood. She would have worried after her father Jude with a similar expression to Bobo's if she hadn't been sealed when he had died.

"I will go with you. I mean, I might not be a great healer but I know some healing magic and our guild doctor might be able to do something for him…" Lucy paused worried she might have mumbling on or been to interfering.

Bobo's face lit up, she hoped she had not given him false promise of his father's unguaranteed recovery. "Thank you Lucy that would mean so much. We are truly indebted to your guild"

Natsu slammed his fist on the bar frustrated causing a dent in to its beautiful wood work. "What do you mean Mirajane Lucy's gone?!"

Mirajane paused for a second, trying not lose her temper. She would scold Lucy for making her tell Natsu that she was leaving instead of doing it herself.

"My my Natsu, you're always causing such a ruckus" spoke Loki as he pushed himself up off the bar and then proceeded to sort his suit. "Even I've been stood here long enough to know that Mirajane told you that Lucy is on a solo job and even if she could tell you where she is she is not allowed to by guild policy"

Natsu stared at Loki infuriated. _How dare he stand around here and talk to me like that when for all we know Lucy could be in danger or worse…_ he thought his mind starting to trail off.

"I have something for you though. If you're prepared to listen for five minutes instead of throwing your fists around" spoke Loki taking out a small package from his suit jacket. "It's not from Lucy, it's from… Let's just say it's from an external party who would also like to ensure Lucy's wellbeing also"

Natsu carefully unwrapped the small parcel Loki had thrown to him. The packaging a stained brown colour seemed old and tainted, small parts of it smelled familiar although Natsu couldn't quite recognise its entire scent. Inside was a small note which read.

To whom ever may be reading this. You do not know me nor do I know of you, but we do have one thing in common. We would both like to ensure Lucy's wellbeing. Especially in what will be a difficult time ahead. You have received this parcel as you are deemed worthy to protect her, if that is the case place the wrist guard on and when she needs protection. It will send you to her but you must not go to her yet.

"Well this is weird" he thought as he held out his wrist for Happy to help lace up the wrist guard on to his left arm. It looked kind of cool though, a dark black leather was flawless as if untouched the only creases in it were where it laced up on the inside of his wrist.

_I wonder why it fits so perfectly, like it's made for me. _

"One more thing before I leave I've been requested by Lucy to ask Wendy to go to Hargeon. Lucy bumped into Bobo on her way to her job, seems the chief has been taking ill and they fear for his life"

"Oh my" said Mirajane as she rushed over to Wendy to explain what Loki had to her.

Natsu let out a small gasp. "Does that mean Lucy is going to…"

"Don't even think about trying to guess where she's is going. You should have read the instructions on that bracelet. Although I've seen them before, if the user tries to follow the person they are protecting with ill consideration to the owners wishes it will swallow you whole" he mentioned rather darkly before disappearing back to the spirit world in a golden shimmer.

_Shit. I should have read that letter more carefully. No wonder it said do not follow her. Bastard tricked me. _

"Miss Lucy that's amazing! You can see some of the colour returning in his cheeks already!" cheered Bobo from the bedside table excitedly.

Lucy smiled at his reaction. He was right though the chief's face was starting to return to its more normal purple colour unlike the dark black it was before.

"I'm sorry" puffed Lucy out of breath and sweating as she leaned over to grip her knees "I'm out of practice with this magic. Hopefully with any luck Wendy will be here soon"

"Please don't apologise Miss Lucy and more importantly do not strain yourself. Wouldn't want you to cause another injury on my account" said Bobo gratefully.

Lucy sat down on the seat next to Bobo, her eyes glancing over the chief's body. There were certain elements that were better. His breathing was less shallow and seemed easier and his complexion was slowly returning back to normal. But it still wasn't enough.

_Have I become so complacent with asking Wendy to heal us that I can't do this anymore? _She asked herself frustrated and annoyed.

"Miss Lucy?" asked Bobo interrupting her deep thought.

"Yes Bobo?"

"Are you alright? You seem annoyed" he asked concerned for the last thing he wanted to do was upset someone who had showed him and his village such great kindness, especially to demon kind.

Lucy nodded. "I'm fine, just annoyed with myself. Use to be able to do this"

When Lucy was in her early teens she would often sneak out of the mansion, especially from her geography lessons. Although she wouldn't go wandering to the beach or anything like that she went to the children's hospice to practice her healing magic. It had started when one day her father had refused to give a donation to the hospital which was desperately in need of new matrons to cope. She snuck out that day to volunteer. Learning the magic she required behind her father's back. After a couple of months of vigorous training she was able to heal two people a day from severe injuries although she would often end up near collapsing on her bed after each shift she deemed it too rewarding not to go.

"One more time" muttered Lucy to herself as she stood up and placed the left palm on top of the back of her right hand but before she could start Loki's key glowed on her belt.

"Oh that's great! Loki's back and Wendy's on her way over now" she cheered though disappointed with herself still that she was still relying on Wendy.

"Lucy" smiled Wendy as she ran into the room not moments later with an exhausted Carla sleeping on her shoulder. "So you're okay?"

"Yes I'm fine Wendy. It's the chief who is ill, didn't Loki explain that?" mumbled Lucy half ready to call out Loki to give him a good ear full about tweaking her message.

Wendy waved her hands in front of herself to indicate that wasn't the case. "It seems Natsu is worried about you, so I thought you were in trouble"

_Natsu's worried about me. Again. _Lucy's heart began to pound dramatically in her chest. _Just what is going inside that head of his._

"Oh so you're Miss Wendy you're so cute. I'm Bobo. Nice to meet you" he said bowing his head forward a little.

Wendy looked at him for a second. "Oh I see! You're that Bobo. Natsu has spoken of you often" she said smiling before beginning to heal the chief.

Bobo grabbed his cloak. "Miss Wendy my apologises for leaving so soon but I have a promise to keep with Miss Lucy would you be able to send word by lacrima of your progress? After all it's getting rather late"

Wendy nodded. "I will do my best for you Bobo" she said sweetly and full of courage. "Lucy… Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course" she smiled. "Don't tell me Natsu's worrying is starting to rub off you on. Though even I'm not sure what has gotten into him lately"

"I just have a bad feeling you're not going to be coming back for a long time" she sighed.

_Lucy's screaming. Her body looks like it's going to be torn apart. Like it's going to burst. Denial, powerful magic and a familiar face, all await for her ahead. Natsu's crying over her body, she doesn't look like she's breathing. Is she breathing?_

Carla roused from the vision that had interrupted her sleep on the bedside chair she had been laying on. It was pitch black outside and the stars had started to come out slowly whilst the moon which was not quite full shone brightly.

"Wendy where's Lucy?" asked Carla alert and concerned that she was no longer in the room.

"She went with Bobo to Galuna Island" she said half asleep on the chair next to her a blanket covering her.

Wendy had exhausted her energy healing the Chief but he would make a full recovery and probably be well enough to go home tomorrow morning. She didn't quite have the strength to go home so she decided it would be better thought out to go home tomorrow morning.

"No! We have to go warn her she's in grave danger"

Galuna Island looked so menacing in the night as if it should never be boarded by a weak human soul. But in the day light it looked beautiful like some sort of paradise. Rather strange and inticing.

"We're almost there Miss Lucy" said Bobo as he steered the boat toward the island shore.

Lucy nodded her head. "Thank you. But Bobo…"

"Yes…?"

"What's that bright blue light come from the right side of the island?" she asked pointing in the direction it was coming from thought within the darkness it lit up like a beacon, as if signalling something to the island.

Bobo stared for a moment "I'm not sure. I've never seen it before" he said in amazement and confusion as to why he had not.

Was it waiting for her?


	3. Chapter 3

_Surely this was it. The dragon something the job request had mentioned. Dragons were such powerful beasts that surely they would be able to create a forceful light like this one. Whatever this dragon thing is I'm meant to be looking for is_

Lucy had run along the beach and was now racing through some forest area following the direction of the ominous light. Small scrapes and cuts were scattered along her skirt and jacket as she caught it on thorns and branches in her haste.

_This has got to be it._

"Lucy" she heard a voice whisper "You're so close Lucy keep going"

She stopped dead in her stide to see who was there but in the darkness there was no one. _Was that…? _ She began wondered but then started running again.

_What do they mean I'm so close? Is there someone waiting for me?_

Thump. Lucy fell over a thick tree root and landed near flat on her face.

"Well I guess being big chested comes in handy sometimes" she said to herself as she dusted off the dirt from her slightly torn clothes.

Taking a deep breath she started to run again. She couldn't tell how long she had been running but it felt like a long time. The more her heart pounded in her chest with anticipation the longer it felt until she would finally reach her destination.

A temple with a dragon symbol a top of the entrance came out from the trees as she halted to a stop now as close to the light as she could go. The symbol was the top view of a dragon as it flew, it's tail curled down towards the right whilst its head pointed up towards the left. The temple itself looked old and dusty seemed as though it had been untouched for years, the brick work on the outside was crumbling away and large vines had woven their way in between the cracks.

_The blue light is piercing through the temple. This has to go to be wear I will find that dragon thing from the request._

Lucy stepped inside the temple, every foot stepping echoing inside the large room. "Hello is anyone in here?"

Her voice echoed in the distance. Not a sound or a scurry to be heard.

"Great. You ran all this way for nothing" she muttered to herself exhausted and about ready to turn back to the village where Bobo had offered to let her stay until her job request was completed.

"Lucy" said a voice near a stair case.

She turned on the spot. "Mother" spoke Lucy softly as she bolted for the stair case. "That has to be mother there's no doubt about it, that's her voice I can hear"

The cave at the bottom of the staircase was filled by the great blue light. It was large. On the right side the floor slanted down and a waterfall spilled into the room creating what seemed almost to be a pool and on the left shone two bright crystals. One blue and the other a variety of multi-coloured shades. Stepping forward cautiously Lucy looked around the room. There was no sign that anyone was here.

"This way" the voice spoke drawing her attention to the crystals. "You're so close"

On instant Lucy whipped her head around to the direction that the voice was coming from. Moving closer towards the crystals she began to notice something odd about them. Although the multi-coloured one seemed to be overflowing with magical energy the blue one was larger and spun around on the spot continuously, whilst the other simply hovered between the ground and the ceiling.

_Is that an arm? _Lucy wondered as the blue one span from right to left in front of her. _It is! It's an arm. Wait no. That can't be._

Encased into the blue crystal was the body of Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's mother. Layla was wearing a simplistic white dress, whichwas floor length and without sleeves. However it was the only thing she wore, her feet were bare and her golden blonde hair flowed down past her lower back like it was encased in water.

"Mother can it be" wondered as she stretched out her arm to touch the crystal where Layla's hand was.

The crystal began to react to Lucy's warmth. The temple shook violently causing Lucy to fall onto her feet.

"Eh what's going on?" questioned Lucy sat on the ground.

She snapped her head back around to the crystal when the temple had finally stopped shaking. Where her hand had touched there was a small crack in the crystal no bigger than her hand itself.

"Oh!" Lucy cried out infuriated "Won't somebody please just tell me what the hell is going on here!"

"I'll tell you what's going on" spoke a firm voice that was followed by footsteps coming from behind her. "You almost awoke her"

Lucy fluttered her eye lids a couple of times in disbelief. "Michelle…?"

The figure shook her head. "I'm not surprised you don't remember me Lucy, I mean we were only small when we met. I'm Dreesa"

Dreesa was dressed in embellished red dress that fit tight to her skin. She wore sparkly black heels that matched the black dragon pattern embellished onto the dress. Her long wavy blonde hair was secured up in a high pony tail that near fluttered along her back.

Lucy shook her head a moment. "Hang on. Back track there a second. What do you mean I almost woke her?"

"What else do you think it means" spoke Dreesa sharply as she walked past Lucy to look at the scratch. "It means you almost woke Layla"

"So you mean to tell me that my mother is alive in there?"

Dreesa simply nodded and then span back around on herself quickly, she started to cross examine Lucy with her eyes. Circling around Lucy, as if looking for some hidden detail that she had overlooked earlier when she watched her walk in the temple moments ago.

"Fascinating" she muttered to herself as she continued to circle. "You've not been awoken yet yourself and yet you were able to cause that crack. We should begin your training soon"

"My training?" Lucy frowned knotting her eyebrows together.

"Well I say training. Perhaps a more accurate term would be spiritual reawakening to become the Dragon Goddess" as Dreesa spoke she gestured for Lucy to come towards her into the waterfall stream that had been flowing into the room.

"Dragon go-goddess?"

Dreesa nodded. "I'm sure you have many questions but first come into the water. Come show me your dragons soul"


	4. Chapter 4

Feeling unable to speak Lucy walked towards Dreesa, her hand reluctantly reaching out towards hers as the water began to wash across the tops of her knees. The water was surprisingly warm and soothing against the skin considering the dark and cold bitter atmosphere of the room.

"Don't worry Lucy" spoke Dreesa with a weak gentle smile. "Take a deep breath then when you're ready lie in the water"

Doing as Dreesa had instructed Lucy closed her eyes and took a large deep breath in. Her heart felt like it was racing inside her chest, as if racing to get away from she stood. Her hands trembled by her side not from the breeze in the room that ran with a chill but from her anxious beating heart. Lucy felt like a child at the dentists waiting to go in to the room, though she didn't know what to expect when she would lie in the water which made her heart race faster.

"There's nothing to be afraid of" she muttered to herself a few times under her breath.

When she had finally managed to slow her heart down a little she laid down into the water. Her hair floating in all directions beside her as the water rippled around her. For a moment she imagined she was back in the bath of her cozy little apartment, the water felt so warm although the room wasn't filled with steam. She could almost imagine the familiar scent of the bubble bath tingling under her nose. She imagined Natsu barging into the bathroom to ask her to go on a job request with him and Happy, once when he wasn't with Happy he stripped down and got in the bath tub with her. Although he swore he didn't see anything she could have sworn he had seen her breasts. A faint blush erupted on her cheeks as she thought of the water glistening of his chest between the steam. He looked so hot with his hair swept back and a relaxed grin on his face.

"Are you ready?" asked Dreesa interrupting Lucy's day dream.

Lucy nodded timidly.

"You'll need to close your eyes whilst I mutter the spell" spoke Dreesa calmly and softly as if trying to soothe a teething baby.

Taking another steady deep breath out, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to relax into the warm soothing water once more.

"Great Dragon goddess trapped in holy slumber. Please hear my call. Fire, earth, wind, iron, poison and more you are hence forth summoned to assist the new goddess in a new era. The dawn of the rebirth of the dragon goddess is amongst us" Dreesa's voice became louder and louder as she spoke as the room began to shake more violently.

A glow in Dreesa's hands a multi-coloured swirling light appeared. Swiftly Dreesa motioned the light ball into Lucy's chest until it was fully absorbed into her body. It tingled Lucy from her core down her legs and arms until it had filled her completely, reaching the tips of her hair. Lucy's body now glowing with the same light.

"The dragon goddess will now be reborn!" shouted Dreesa with a voice bold and fierce like a roaring dragon itself. In another sharp movement she placed her hands onto Lucy's shoulders and submerged her fully under the water, pinning her against the pool floor.

Mentally Lucy screamed but she couldn't physically move her body. She wanted to fight back. She wanted to grab Dreesa's arms and heave herself out of the water, kick and scream until she was free and able to breathe again.

_Natsu please help me_, she mentally screamed before exhaling her last heavy breath.

"Natsu you're not even trying!" wailed Happy in the back of Natsu's ear to try to snap him from his day dream. "At this rate the whole town is going to be destroyed before we even finish this job"

Natsu shook his head side to side. "Sorry Happy. I just had a gut feeling that Lucy was shouting for help there a second"

"Natsu that's so weird. You know that bracelet thingy would take you to Lucy if she needed help. After all that's what Loki said" Happy said exasperated as he dodged a few more attacks from the sea octopus that was spitting slim.

The job request they had selected was meant to be a "get Lucy off the brain" type request, as Natsu had little but mope around in the house and occasionally walk past her apartment to see if she was home.

One day he had accidentally grabbed a woman in the street as he walked home on the way from Lucy's apartment because she happened to look Lucy from the back. It wasn't until she turned around screaming at him for grabbing her arm that he realised she wasn't Lucy and his excitement had dropped. Sure the woman had the same blonde hair as Lucy and was the same height but he couldn't compare her to Lucy's beauty. Her lips didn't curve nor glisten the same way that Lucy's did. Nor did her blue eyes make him want to melt like Lucy's brown eyes did. He should have realised straight away that she didn't smell the same. She didn't smell like writing ink or vanilla body wash she used or the strawberry shampoo that he would catch the smell of when her hair blew in the wind. The woman was pretty but she just wasn't his gorgeous Lucy.

This job was save a beach from a psycho octopus that was terrorizing a beach. It seems that one of the hotel managers had seen the giant octopus enraged after watching some tourists each smaller octopus legs on a skewer. When Natsu had originally huffed in his seat at the guild at the request, Erza had threatened violently with a face that could have struck even Laxus dead to beat the shit out of him until he came to his senses. At which point until the dust trail left behind him was all that could have been seen.

"Yeah I guess you're right Happy" said Natsu trying to smile his usual toothy grin, although it came off pathetic and weak unlike him. "Let's do this!"

"Aye sir" perked up Happy excitedly as he flew full speed ahead towards the octopus.

Bursting out of the water Lucy flew full speed of the water to the top of the cave. Gasping for air and shaking she pressed herself against its cold shiny surface as if her dear life depended on it.

"You… lied to… me" she stumbled out uneasily, still trying to catch her breath. Lucy's eyes were wide and frightened, her hands shaking as she grasped against the tops of the ceiling walls. Her heart slammed violently in her chest that she could hear it loud and clear in her head.

"I had to." Spoke Dreesa coldly, folding her arms across her chest. "You weren't exactly going to let me drown you"

Lucy gasped digging her nails in further into the walls. "You knew you were going to have to do that!"

Dressa nodded. "To awaken the dragon goddess it requires animalistic instinct where on the point of near death she will awaken to fend herself"

"Still! You could have told me that!" shouted Lucy frustrated, knotting her eye brows together.

"Like I said" spoke Dreesa pausing briefly. "You weren't simply going to let me drown you"

Unable to respond to Dreesa, Lucy paused for a moment in thought. Surely if what Dreesa was saying was the truth the dragon goddess within her would have been awaken, but she didn't feel any different. Steadily taking a hand away from the wall she looked at it intently. She didn't appear to look any different either.

"I know what you're thinking" spoke Dressa who had almost finished walking out of the water's edge before she turned to face Lucy. "But ask yourself one question. How did you get up there?"

Lucy looked down towards Dreesa unable yet again to respond. She remembered a kicking feeling inside her before she erupted out of the water but she couldn't think of what had actually got her out.

"Have a look at your reflection"

Carefully leaning against the cave wall, Lucy peered down and across at her reflection. Sure just as she had thought nothing about her existing features was different. She had even dried off from being in the water. Then she noticed the giant pair of dragon wings that had formed across her back and gasped in horror. They spanned twice the length of her arms when out towards the sides, at the top of each was a horn like spike and they were red and black.

_When the heck did these get here!_ She mentally screamed staring at them in the reflection of the water in hopes that she might have been dreaming.

"It seems your most in tune with the fire dragon, that's beneficial as he's the hardest to control" spoke Dreesa knocking her concentration.

"Is there… is there anything else… that should be different?" mumbled Lucy who drew her attention once more to her reflection.

"Well your clothes are different. Oh, and you're body strength will be different. Your strength should accumulate to that of about fifty full grown men, if I had to guess that is. Some previous dragon goddesses have said that their eyes have been sharper as if they could see things sharper than before, others have said they've felt they could slow things down in a battle so there opponent's attacks were always rendered useless. One rare case a dragon goddess was able to manipulate her body so that she could disguise or alter herself as she wanted, though over usage caused her a lot of physical pain"

Lucy pushed herself off the cave wall using her feet and tried to hover above the water. It wasn't too difficult for her to be able to get her wings to be able to respond as she wanted them to. She marvelled in how fun it was to fly. She suddenly felt like the world was without bounds, her body felt amazing as if it was bursting near overflowing with magical energy. Hesitating slightly she punched the top corner of the cave wall lightly and it crumbled revealing the smallest glimmer of sunlight. She punched at the spot again but harder, this time it was large enough that she could fit herself through the spot.

"Hang on a second Lucy you need to train some more before you-" but before Dreesa could finish her sentence Lucy was already outside.

Dreesa huffed and kicked off her heels "Just what on earth is your daughter thinking Layla" she muttered before running outside to chase after Lucy.

Lucy had soared high above the tree tops until she was over the centre of the island. It looked like paradise in the sunlight, the sea glistening as it tumbled onto the shore, the white sand looked warm and inviting, birds chirped over the tree tops as the gentle breeze blew the leaves scattering them around the island.

_So this is what Happy must feel like when he's flying, no wonder he does it so often. Oh how I miss them so much. _

A tear rolled down her cheek. Just how long had she been away from them. It only felt like it had been a day but somehow she knew it had been longer. She missed her sweet little apartment. She missed Fairy Tail. She missed her friends. She missed Natsu. She missed his sweet toothy grin that was accompanied by a small blush whenever he brushed his hand near hers. She missed his long warm hugs that felt like home. She missed being angry at him whenever he barged into her apartment. She missed their long late night chats when he couldn't sleep. She missed the way he was always destroying stuff on their missions. She missed that feeling of wanting to kiss him whenever he said something sweet to her. She simply missed Natsu, all of him.

"There you are Lucy" spoke Dreesa who had used a hover scooter to catch up to her.

Lucy turned around to face Dreesa letting the tears spill down her face willingly as she clutched around the middle of her waist, trying to comfort herself.

"What's wrong Lucy?" asked Dreesa wrapping an arm around Lucy who was now shaking from the tears.

"I want to go home" she mumbled in between the tears.

Dreesa squeezed Lucy tighter. "Don't you want to go home with your mum also though?"

Lucy pulled away from Dreesa's comforting hold "I do but I miss my friends at fairy tail"

"I'm sure they miss you too. Why don't we go get some lunch? You can ask me those questions you wanted to before"

Lucy wiped away her tears, nodded slightly and began to follow Dreesa down towards the ground again.


	5. Chapter 5

Past through miles of forest on the far side of the island which was largely over grown and unruly, Lucy followed Dreesa to a small cliffside where she had set up their lunch table. The view from the table was amazingly peaceful, the ocean in front stretching out for miles uninterrupted by passing boats whilst occasional seagulls flew past in the distance. The wind blew softly feeling like a soft feather that skims past the skin barely noticed. The lunch table Dreesa had prepared for them was ridiculously large for just two people, not including Natsu with his monstrous appetite. It was like being at the mad hatters tea party, but instead of being covered in just sweets it was grouped into smaller sections of different cuisines with various delicacies placed together.

Lucy's stomach growled uncomfortably as she clutched her middle, a small blush of embarrassment creeping across her face. It was like she hadn't eaten for days. Oh wait. She hadn't.

"Don't just stand there" spoke Dreesa sarcastically moving past Lucy to grab a bowl. "It's going to get cold"

At the table edge Dreesa started filling up her bowl with some spicy chicken noodles that she had just pulled the lid off, the mouth-watering smell fluttering along with the breeze.

"Um Dreesa… did you… did you make all this food by yourself?"

Dreesa quietly giggled to herself rather girly and bubbly considering her normal brute attitude. "No of course not I used magic"

Now that Lucy thought about it she had seen similar magic before when she worked with the others waitressing at Yajima's restaurant, though Dreesa hadn't needed to batter the ingredients together like he had.

Slowly Lucy took a seat next to Dreesa after she filled her bowl half full of spaghetti Bolognese. There was so much food that she didn't want to get full after eating just one bowl, she wanted to try more especially some different types of food she wasn't familiar with.

"Now you're seated you can start asking those questions I said you could ask" spoke Dreesa leaning back into her chair to sit relaxed whilst sipping her tea.

After swallowing down her mouthful of food Lucy promptly asked. "Just who exactly, are you?"

Dreesa raised her eyebrows in surprise her eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise. She hadn't expected such a question, especially not a first question.

_Looks like this dragon goddess is going to be intriguing to train after all_

"I'm a trainer of goddesses"

"So…" Lucy paused momentarily trying to organise her many buzzing thoughts "There are more than one type of goddess?"

"Yes" answered Dreesa who then snapped her fingers to make a small notebook appear. Dreesa's magic was tailored to allow her to best organise her information in order to train goddesses, if she needed equipment or manuals she was able to summon them from her storage space in another dimension a bit like Erza's, although Dreesa's magic allowed her to be able to create small objects if she needed them to do something specific for her. Lucy grasped the hovering notebook in front of her cautiously and started to flick through it carefully. It seemed immaculate though the binding was fragile as though it has been opened many times.

"Each have a different ability, though most are elementals which are the easiest to train as they have only one ability. If I had to choose the most interesting it would be creation goddesses who have the ability to create anything they can imagine"

Gently still Lucy continued to flick through the book until she came to the eagerly anticipated dragon goddess section. On a page titled 'Dragon Summoning' was a picture of a goddess, her small wings were also small like her tiny childlike figure. Her facial expression was plagued with agonising pain, as though her flesh had been set alight. A black magic circle had been drawn out from underneath her as she kneeled down onto the ground screaming up towards the sky. Behind her stood tall large dragons that seemed ready to attack at any moment, their feet grounded into the dirt.

"What is this?" asked Lucy nervously as she turned the notepad around to show Dreesa what she was referring to.

"That's a dragon summoning, where the goddess cannot only bring a dragon to help her but take on its abilities herself"

Lucy turned the notepad around again to look at the picture. She knew it could take a vast amount of magic energy to summon even one of her gold keys, such as Aquarius who was proven to be just as powerful as Juvia in battle. Never mind trying to bring a dragon through.

"There's not need to plague your face with that agonising expression. We'll start with your most in sync dragon"

"Which one is that?" asked Lucy as she returned the notepad to Dreesa, who proceeded to click her fingers and make it disappear again.

Dreesa smiled excitedly. "The fire dragon, Igneel. I'm guessing that's because of a certain pink hair male dragon slayer though."

As bright as a caucasian person with a severe sunburn. Lucy's cheeks lit up brightly. "How… how do you know about Natsu?"

"I had to set up some monitoring to make sure you were the person I was looking for"

Lucy's jaw dropped like a heavy sack of spuds hitting the kitchen floor. "That's an invasion of my privacy! Just what kind of surveillance did you set up?"

"I set up a crystal lacrima to follow you for two weeks. Because Jude wasn't alive and you're so much younger than I expected you to be. Plus it was useful to gather more information on who you interact with so I could tailor your training a bit more"

"Did you see anything in particular?" asked Lucy intrigued, she didn't think she acted anything other than as a friend around Natsu but surely Dreesa must have seen something in order to tease her the way she did.

"He creeps into bed with you" she explained a small blush spreading across her cheeks as she remembered just what she had seen on the lacrima. "Almost every night. He creeps in about an hour after you've gone to sleep and then gets up about an hour before your alarm is set for. But it wasn't... just that… maybe it'll be easier if I just show you"

Dreesa snapped her fingers again but this time a crystal lacrima video appeared. She tapped the lacrima bringing up its control panel and selected the video she needed. The video started playing from midnight and just as Dreesa had said Natsu was sleeping next to on the far side next to the window. The timer on the video ticked over to about seven thirty am, struggling a little Natsu sat up and slowly hopped over Lucy without waking her up. He pulled up the blanket back across to her shoulders then kissed her gently on the forehead. She moaned lightly in sleep at the soft touch.

"One day I'll find the courage to tell you how much I love you" he whispered gently into her ear before kissing her on the cheek.

Dreesa stopped the tape and snapped her fingers to remove the lacrima video. Lucy stared aimlessly and dumbfounded, lost in thought as her lips tingled as she watched the video as she mentally thought about kissing Natsu's.

_He loves me? _She questioned in thought. Of course in a way it kind of made sense, he was always by her side and would go to great lengths to even stop a single one of her tears spilling.

_But I thought he was dense. That he didn't know the word love. Never mind know what it means or feeling it for me. _

Natsu groaned as he took another undefended hit from Gray in the jaw. It hurt like hell especially as Gray wasn't holding back.

"Natsu! I'm sick of this!" shouted Gray as he grabbed a chair and started running towards Natsu looking like a deranged mad man. "When are you going to stop mopping around waiting for Lucy to come back?!"

Gray whacked the wooden chair against Natsu's back with as much strength as he could muster up. The chair shattered into splinters but Natsu only groaned, rolling his shoulders a little.

"Maybe she shouldn't come back then she wouldn't have to see your depressing ass pathetic face!" spat Gray sarcastically as he turned away from the salamander.

Bursting angrily into flames, Natsu charged full speed to head butt Gray straight into the walls of the guild halls. Juvia ran to Gray's side swiftly to help him back up onto his feet.

"That's enough. The pair of you" shouted Erza standing between the two of them, her arms stretched to the side of her. "Why don't we just go find Lucy and put this whole business to rest?"

Without saying a word Natsu raised his arm that had the bracelet fastened onto it then turned to walk out of the guild hall doors without looking at or acknowledging anyone near him.

Erza sighed loudly to herself defeated. _I hope Levy finds something about that bracelet soon. _

Levy had been researching for days after Happy had asked her to. He was worried about Natsu. He hadn't been home for a while. Although yeah it was Natsu and there was no need to worry about his safety, he had been staying at Lucy's apartment as if waiting for her to come back to him. So far she hadn't found anything though. She had been turning to more ancient legendary magic when she couldn't find anything in the modern magic books. The little information she was getting about its origin wasn't helping much, but she felt like she was so close to making a break through with some of the information. Levy wanted to do the best she could for her best friend, she missed seeing her cheery smile around the guild she wanted to read more books together and cry more together. She didn't want a future without her.

Back at the lunch table Lucy was getting ready to ask Dreesa some more questions once she had refilled her plate for the fourth time. It seemed as her magic energy had increased so had her appetite. No wonder Natsu ate so much food.

Lucy took her seat as she did so her wings bumped the back of her chair and she couldn't quite sit as comfortably as she'd like to.

"How do I make these wings go away? I don't mean permanently of course, just don't want to walk around looking like a dragon all of the time" asked Lucy waving her arms frantically as she tried not to cause offence.

"You just need to relax. They'll come back when you want them too or you need to fight"

Lucy took another sip of her tea followed by a few deep breaths as she tried to relax. After a couple of minutes with her eyes closed her dragon wings disappeared just like Happy's in a sparkle of magic energy.

"Dreesa, how can… how can my mother still be alive in that crystal? I mean, she died years ago when I was only a kid"

Dreesa put down her folk and glared at Lucy rather seriously. "Did you see her die?"

Lucy thought about it for a moment. She remembered that she had known for a short while that her mother was unwell, but she hadn't been allowed in the room to see her die in her final moments after they had said what would appear to be their final farewells.

"You weren't allowed in the room because she didn't die"

"How do you know all this?" asked Lucy stuttering a little bit nervous to find out the answer.

Dreesa sighed exasperatedly and loud. "We are going to be here a long time at this rate. Why don't I just tell you everything whilst you eat and we can go from there?"

She knew Lucy had a lot of questions to ask and considering the circumstance she over deserved every answer to them. But in truth they had a lot of preparations to complete before Lucy was a full dragon goddesses, before they would be able to release Layla from the crystal lacrima. It would be many months, if not years before Lucy would return to Fairy Tail.

Lucy nodded her head and shifted herself slightly to sit more comfortably in her seat.

Rewind back twenty four years to before Lucy was born. Layla and Jude had just settled into their new home and happily expecting their child soon.

Jude lovingly kissed his wife on the cheek "I need to go work on the accounts, the servants will help moving the remaining large items."

Swiftly Jude left the room. Although yes, his recent unexpected income had allowed him to buy the manor that Lucy would grow up in still he wanted to make sure he could provide so much more for his family so that they could maintain this lavish lifestyle. As Jude had said the servants and the bulker moving men, placed the large items of furniture from the van where Layla requested they be moved to.

The doorbell chimed, soft and melodically. Leaving the servants to their assigned duties Layla half waddled to the front door to open it. Stood in front of her was a petite tall woman with long wavy blonde hair, which although it was tied back into a high pony tail it still reached midway down her back. Her long dark blue top flared down and over her black jeans, accompanied with heavy hiker boots and a campers back pack.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but I've been travelling a long way, could you be so kind as to let me use your bathroom?"

Layla smiled politely, the girl in front of her didn't seem harmful or dishonest as she spoke. "Of course, let me show you where it is though I didn't catch your name?"

"It's Dreesa"

Gesturing her arm to the side, Layla welcomed Dreesa in. "Pleasure I'm Layla" she said with a sweet smile.

"Now if you just go down the hall and it's the second… or third door on your left" spoke Layla pointing in the right direction of the hall. Their manor was so large it could have been so easy for Dreesa to get lost and it didn't help that Layla didn't know quite where she was going either. But with so many people around it would have been difficult for Dreesa to get lost without being able to ask for directions somehow.

In the bathroom Dreesa opened up her backpack and pulled out a strange looking device. It had a large electronic panel with several different coloured buttons around the side. The metal casing was tainted a dusky brown colour as the once shiny silver surface had been exposed too many times to sunlight. Frantically Dreesa pressed the different coloured buttons a confused look spread on her face like that of a student in a classroom.

"Where the hell have you sent me now?" she muttered irritated under her breath as the top spike with a disc attached started to spin madly like a small child who had eaten too many sugary sweets spun on the spot.

Poking her head out Dreesa checked the hallway was clear before she began to follow the beeps of the device around the manor. She huffed irritated more than once after it started frantically making noise outside of a room only for her to find there was no one around. Almost an hour later Layla started looking for Dreesa with fear that she had gotten herself lost.

"Dreesa" called out Layla "at least I think it was Dreesa" she muttered quietly to herself. "Where are you?"

Layla turned around a corner where they were intending to have guest's bedrooms.

_Perhaps she has fallen ill and a maid has taken her to lie down_.

Still hopeful that she hadn't just let a thief wander straight into her home.

_She did look awfully pale._

A few moments later Dreesa turned the corner at the other end of the hall and the device beeped loudly and repetitively as she caught sight of Layla. Panicked Dreesa started pressing any button that she brushed her finger against in order to try to stop the beeping.

"What is that?" asked Layla alarmed and frightened as she backed away slowly.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The device kept sounding. Flipping the device over, Dreesa pulled out the small lacrima crystal which seemed to be the devices power source.

"Stupid worthless piece of junk" muttered Dreesa frustrated and smacking the device with her fist a few times.

"Who are you? Just what is going on?" asked Layla in a more aggressive tone reaching for her celestial gate keys on her right hip.

Dreesa held her hands palm forward in a way that a criminal does when they have been caught by the police, dropping the device which clattered against the wooden floor. "Layla there's no need for that. Let me explain, I'm Dreesa Scarlett-Hound a trainer of goddesses"

In a split second Layla's expression turned to that of shock, the words 'trainer of goddesses' ringing in her mind as voices do down that of an empty tunnel. Being a celestial mage she often encountered different mythical beings but she had never come across a goddess trainer before, that which was consider most mysterious and mythical. In her early teens she had attempted to research them so more but had found limited information about them.

A few hours later in the tea room, Dreesa had finished explaining to Layla the situation they were in. At any points there are usually two of any goddess type, one full and one substitute. The substitute is always younger than the full goddess and is made into the next goddess if an event occurs where the full goddess is killed or dies. The last dragon goddess died unexpectedly during the training process from attempting to summon a dragon she was not yet ready to handle. She was in her late child years, therefore her younger substitute was Layla's unborn child. The baby would start, if it hadn't already, sucking magic energy from anything nearby including Layla. Because the baby would be too young to start training, having not even developed fully yet as a human being, it would require a kick starter of magic energy needed before it could start training. This would be necessary from the age of two and could take up to another twenty years before the energy was absorbed into her baby.

"What if I was placed into the crystal instead? Surely there's a way to lock the transformation away until a given time and then I can act as an absorbed container to transfer the magic energy?" asked Layla caressing her large bulging baby bump.

Dreesa paused for a moment. Such a process was possible but it would require a large amount of planning and research, but she couldn't understand why.

"I can tell what you're thinking" spoke Layla who had glanced up momentarily "But I couldn't possible rob her of her child hood memories"

Layla continued to caress her stomach as spoke, occasionally switching between running her index finger down or her full palm back up. Her eyes full of love. Just by looking at her Dreesa could understand what she meant.

The next three weeks Layla and Dreesa spent their days and most evenings in the library. Dreesa stayed in a guest room masquerading as one of Layla's distant non-blood related cousins. They kept what they were doing a secret from Jude, saying that instead they were researching celestial spirits.

"Dreesa come take a look at this" called Layla ushering her forward. "This chapter explains about lacrima absorption, this part in particular is what I'm curious about"

Dreesa leaned over Layla's shoulder to look at the book. The image was that of an elderly woman whose life had been lengthened by storing a large lacrima crystal underneath her house which she slowly was able to absorb. She had seen a couple of examples like this in other text books. It was clinically untested but in small unique cases it had been known to work.

"Couldn't we use something like this so I could have more time with Lucy?" asked Layla looking up towards Dreesa with hope.

Layla was about ready to pop, she moved limited around the manor but still determined to find a better solution to Lucy's situation she continued to research although Dreesa insisted to pass her books.

"Surely a large enough crystal could allow for you to be able to spend a good few years extra with Lucy" spoke Dreesa with a flat tone of voice as not to give too much hope to Layla if this would not work. "There is a slight problem though, that I have been thinking we might incur we are going to need to lock Lucy's inner goddess powers away or else it could flourish at any moment before you have fully absorbed the lacrima. It's happened before when goddesses have transformed without assistance"

Layla's eyes widened ever so slightly with concern. It would be just the large bump in the road to knock them off course.

"We should look into a wizard with the ability to perform this" said Layla still hopeful although doing so would be no easy task.

During the previous evenings Dreesa had really started to open her eyes as to how much Layla had really loved her unborn child. Often Dreesa would call it Lucy as well, sensing that Layla knew exactly what she was talking about.

Three days later and Layla's water broke and she was rushed with Jude to the nearest hospital. Dreesa was not at the manor at the time she had just found the wizard who would be able to do the binding of Lucy's magic although she was not sure on whether she could trust the man with this task but when he displayed binding her magic and then unbinding it again she decided could trust him. This man although short and old still looked strong and able to battle when push came to shove as his jacket was embellished with a symbol Dreesa was yet to come across. It looked like that of a wizard's guild, though this one she had not seen before. The symbol was sort of bird shaped with wings flaring off to the right.

Labour lasted a cruel twelve hours for Layla, the last hour the worst as she laid panting on the bed her legs supported in the air desperate for the energy to push. Dreesa ran down the corner much to every nurse's disapproval with Makarov swiftly beside her, when they reached near the doors she asked him to wait outside whilst she distract the husband. He didn't question why saying there must be a good reason the father doesn't know about this and took a seat.

"Dreesa you finally made it" spoke Jude quietly as he sat near the bed side next to his sleeping wife cradling the baby. "A beautiful baby girl. Layla's never going to let me forget that she was right" he spoke softly with a slight chuckle linger in the back of his tone of voice.

Dreesa bowed her head low. "My apologies I rushed her as soon as I found out from a maid who came for me that she was here"

"That's okay. I understand you've been helping Layla a lot it's natural that you do need some time away from the library in order to sort your own affairs"

Although Jude and Dreesa had been living under the same roof for almost a month they had never really spoken to each other. Layla was always there to spark off the conversation and make the atmosphere more cheerful with her laughter. It was awkward and almost uncomfortable to speak to Jude whilst Layla slept.

Jude moved careful up from his seat and moved towards the cradle, setting Lucy down into the crib. "Can you please tell my wife if she wakes up before I get back that I have gone to fetch her some fresh clothes and ask the servants to decorate the nursery pink?"

Dreesa nodded her head. "I will be sure to do that

"Thank you. I shall be back as soon as I can" he said gratefully leaving the room.

On hearing the door close with a thud Layla opened her eyes gently, sensitive to sunset pouring through the window.

"Oh good you're awake" spoke Dreesa moving towards Layla to help her sit up. "I managed to find a wizard capable of the binding"

Layla's eyes sparkled like a winter's night sky lit up with fireworks. "Thank you Dreesa"

"He's here now waiting, he'll have to work quickly considering the scale of Lucy's magic that requires sealing in the first place"

"Please let him in" she asked quietly trying not to wake Lucy who she could hear lightly snoring from her crib.

Before Dreesa could get to the door Makarov had already opened it and let himself in. "Congratulations ma'am" he spoke in a cheerful quiet tone of voice sensing the mood in the room.

"Thank you, pleased to meet you I'm Layla Heartfilia" she spoke as she waved slightly awkwardly at him.

"The pleasure is all mine" spoke Makarov as he moved closer towards Layla. "I'm Makarov Dreyar at your service. I understand you need a magic binding spell"

Makarov continued on to explain that this spell would require unbinding by another spell. Dreesa requested to be taught the spell as the different requirements for becoming a dragon goddess would need to be in place at the same time. Although hesitant Makarov agreed that this would be the best course of action for the child.

"Could you please move the cot closer to the bed? I'm going to need to stand close to the baby" asked Makarov jumping up onto the edge of the bed to sit next to Layla feeling that this would put her more at ease throughout.

"Lucy" she corrected. "The baby's name is Lucy Heartfilia"

"Of course, my apologises" he said as he readied his arms palm down over Lucy. Muttering to himself Makarov brought out a inner cosmos from within Lucy. It was a beautiful array of colours all swirling vibrantly unguided.

Pointing a large section of the cosmos Makarov said "This is the part I will need to bind for her not to become a dragon goddess. But notice this dark blue area she also has celestial magic in her as well" he spoke as he circled over without touching the dark blue area.

"Amazing" breathed Layla as she looked at the cosmos who had never seen such a thing before and glad that Lucy had inherited her magic ability.

Moving quickly aware that Jude could be back soon, Makarov dipped his finger into the cosmos and gathered the multi-coloured section then drew a light box over the top of it as he muttered as spell. When he finished the spell the box he had drew began to glow golden.

"The binding is complete" informed Makarov after he placed the cosmos into Lucy, a small humming sound coming from within her.

Turning to Layla, Makarov spoke once more before leaving the room. "Your daughter would be a welcome member of my guild Fairy Tail when she is older, she has such potential"

"What payment did he take?" asked Layla yawning and stretching out a little.

"He didn't" spoke Dreesa frowning a little as she recalled what he had said when they met. "He only wanted to know that he was doing would benefit someone"

With all the commotion around Lucy's birthday from neighbouring children and distant relatives it was easy to place the lacrima into the basement without Jude or anyone else's notice. Doing so would allow Layla to be able to spend another four years maximum with Lucy whilst still giving Lucy the large quantity of magic she needed.

In the coming three years and six months Dreesa actioned the rest of their plan solo. She studied at Fairy Tail learning about different types of magic and more importantly learning the unbinding spell which Makarov let her try out on a few select patients though ready to step in should he need be. Whilst in the Fairy Tail guild hall Dreesa felt a great sense of longing that if something were to happen between Jude and Lucy that she would somehow find her way here. Though there was concern that she might get roped into trouble with a certain group of kids where a pink haired boy was always making lots of noise.

On Galuna Island she stored a large lacrima crystal under some abandoned ruins that had been pointed out to her by the villagers. It was the perfect setting for them as the magic energy would allow the process of Layla becoming a container easier with moon light with less strain on her physically. Regularly she had delivered magic potion to Layla that would give the drinker the appearance and medical diagnosis of having a life threatening illness. Whilst at the manor Dreesa would monitor the progress of the lacrima, and Lucy's magic ability though trying not to interfere with Lucy too much.

On Lucy's sixth birthday Layla was confined to a wheel chair due to the effects of the potion. She would have been lying if she had said that every dose of it had not been painful, but she knew it was best for her family for her daughter. If they knew the truth behind what she was doing Jude would probably spend his entire fortune for her not spend a single day imprisoned whist Lucy would probably spend her time researching how to reverse the process in order to replace Layla instead of living each day to fullest like Layla wanted her.

Two months later Dreesa delivered her final package to Layla, containing a dose of the potion and a magic transporter. The transporter was a simple device programmable to send the user to a pre-determined destination. Layla greeted Dreesa from the comfort of her bed struggling to sit up.

In Layla's bedroom the curtains were drawn, keeping the room dimly lit by only the small quaint fireplace in the bedroom. A few colourful paper cards stood upright on the bedside which had been carefully made by Lucy and used as an excuse to see Layla. Jude was sat at the side of the bed next to her leaning his elbows on his knees a look of sorrow on his face.

"Jude" called Layla out coughing. "Bring Lucy to me"

Jude gently squeezed his beautiful wife's hand before rushing out of the room. He had known his wife's time was regrettably coming to an end, she was no longer able to sit in the wheelchair for it make her sick and dizzy.

Walking over from the far side of the room Dreesa came close to Layla to give her the final dose of the potion. On closer inspection Dreesa noticed how much older she looked, her hair was no longer shiny yet dull and matted at the back of her head. Large sleepy bags hung under her eyes on her pale white skin. Layla's brown eyes no longer glistened with exciting life for the future as they had done when they met.

Carefully Dreesa placed the transporter into Layla's hand instructing her on how to use it. Not long after Jude entered the room and Dreesa excused herself giving the family time to be alone in what would appear to be there final moments together. Running swiftly behind him her shoulder length hair bouncing behind her Lucy entered the room. She was the spitting image of Layla, resembling little of Jude.

In a few jerky inelegant movements Lucy managed to jump and sit on the bed as close as physically possible to Layla without actually sitting on her. Slowly and weakly Layla moved her hand to cup Lucy's face.

"You know how you are my big strong girl?"

Lucy nodded placing her small hand on top of Layla's, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I want you to find your happiness. Can you do that for me?" spoke Layla as she wiped Lucy's tears that rolled onto her fingers.

Diving forward and crying out with tears Lucy hugged Layla. "I don't want you to go mummy" she spluttered through her tears her voice etching with sadness. "Please don't leave me mummy"

Tears welled up in Layla's eyes. She would never have been able to guess how much it would have hurt to leave her family behind. Even if it wasn't forever. Softly she placed her hand on Lucy's head and tried to soothe her.

"Lucy my precious daughter, I will always be with you"

Layla turned to Jude who was also welling up with tears. "Please take Lucy out of the room, I don't want her to see…" she had intended to finish that sentence but she couldn't quite bare to say the word 'death'.

Jude nodded in agreement and cradled a blubbering Lucy into his arms then swiftly Mrs Spetto who was waiting outside.

Rushing and almost tripping over his own feet Jude hurried back to Layla's side, reaching for her hand. She smiled sweetly at him, he hadn't changed a bit in the blissful either years they had been together.

Carefully he bent over to kiss her forehead, and then whispered sweetly. "I love you, I don't think anyone will every come close to how much I love you"

"I love you too" whispered Layla as she leaned up to kiss his lips with her own for the final time before engaging the transporter in her hand. "Take care of our daughter"

A few moments later after Layla had closed her eyes she disappeared into silver glowing streams of lights and vanished, just like Lisanna had done when she disappeared into Edolas.

Dreesa left an hour later, trying to provide some comfort to the grieving family. Her final words to Lucy were 'Layla was always fuelled by such love, that love will go in you'. When she returned to Galuna Island using another tranporter in her pocket when she was far away enough from the manor, she quickly gave a passed out Layla sprawled on the floor the antidote for the potion. It took mere minutes for her to become herself again and be able to move around.

Another day later they placed Layla into the crystal just to make sure that she was fully recovered. Layla hugged Dreesa which shocked her a little bit as she wasn't expecting it and thanked her for understanding and putting so much effort into helping her family.

Every week Dreesa would come back to check on Layla and the crystal, measuring its size and checking her vital signs. Around ten years later Dreesa noticed the size of the crystal was not decreasing. Alarmed and unable to find Lucy who was locked in a seal on Tenrou Island, she threw herself into research.

Layla would never be able to break free of the crystal herself, Lucy would have to absorb the remaining crystal and the container inside of her to break free.

Lucy's tears fell down onto her skirt as the reality of what her mother had sacrificed for her came to the surface. Layla's words ringing in her mind 'I want you to find your happiness'. Dreesa had explained everything to Lucy, she knew the reason Makarov gave her the dud request on Galuna Island, why she felt weak and incapable because her magic had been sealed though deep within she could probably feel it stirring and why she wasn't allowed in the room when Layla died.

In a quick thunder bolt flash Lucy darted away from the lunch table, spread her wings and flew straight towards the temple. Alarmed Dreesa chased after her, worried she might try to unsuccessfully break Layla from the lacrima to soon. But she sighed in relief when she found her crying kneeled down at the crystal.

"Mother, I promise I will free you" spoke Lucy as she gently stroked the crystal.

"Then we start training first thing in the morning" spoke Dreesa from behind her, placing a hand of comfort on Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy looked back to Dreesa, determination flowing through and nodded. She was going to do whatever it took.


End file.
